Dino Days Record Day

Ben Edwards set the ALL TIME RECORD in the 2" One Arm Vertical Bar Deadlift with a lift of 251 pounds at the Dino Days Record Day.

MEET REPORT

There were not alot of records set today at the Dino Days Record Day, but the ones that were set were great! Only five lifters showed up on this second day of the two USAWA competitions hosted by the Dino Gym this weekend; Mike Murdock, Scott Tully, Ben Edwards, LaVerne Myers and myself. Mike lead the way with setting records in 9 different lifts, followed by LaVerne with 8, and the rest of us tied at 7. Every lifter had a record lift which I would call OUTSTANDING, and I had a hard time “choosing” just one feature picture, so I just decided I would show a picture of everyone who lifted, in which I would call their “BEST” record of the day.

Ben Edwards showed up today to SMASH some USAWA grip records, and that he did. Ben is the KING of the Vertical Bar, and that was the first lift he set his record breaking sights on. I have watched Ben several times with the VB, but never have I seen him this strong with it. He kept going up and up with the weight, finishing with an ALL TIME USAWA record of 251 pounds with his right hand. This broke the USAWA All-Time mark held by Andrew Durniat of 250 pounds, set at the 2010 Dino Gym Grip Challenge. I also got to see Andrew set his record, and at the time I wondered if it ever would be broken. Well, Ben did it! He also lifted 240 pounds in the 2″ VB with his left hand, setting the highest mark in USAWA history with the left as well. The next “grip lift” Ben went after was the Fulton Dumbbell (of which handle is 2 inches in diameter). He did 175 pounds with his left, and 185 pounds with his right. The “185” is the BEST EVER that has been done in the USAWA with a one handed Fulton Dumbbell. As some of you know, the Fulton Bar lifts utilizing the 2″ handle was named after Kevin Fulton, who was one of the grip-strength pioneers in the USAWA. It all started that day when Kevin “upset” Wilbur Miller in a competition where a 2″ handle dumbbell was deadlifted with one arm. Bill Clark “tagged” the name of the Fulton Bar to the 2 inch handle following this incident. Now Ben better set his goal on Kevin’s best mark from the Old Missouri Valley Record List. Just to let you know – Kevin Fulton lifted 195 pounds in the One Arm Fulton Dumbbell in 1983. So get to work Ben!!!

Scott Tully set the ALL TIME RECORD in the Stifflegged Deadlift with a lift of 512 pounds at the Dino Days Record Day.

Scott Tully really did some damage to the Record List today as well. Scott doesn’t mess around with “sissy lifts” when it comes to breaking records. He gets right to the hard stuff! He started off with breaking the record in the Stiff Legged Deadlift with a great lift of 512 pounds. This not only broke the 125+ KG weight class record that was previously held at 502 pounds by Matthew Doster, but the ALL -TIME USAWA record of 507 pounds held by Ed Schock and myself. Since I knew Scott was “taking my record down” as well, and I was the head official on his lift, I made sure he kept his legs straight! This caused Scott to attempt this lift at least 4 times until he finally got it! And well deserving. Next Scott went on to some other “hard” lifts like the Fulton Bar Deadlift and the Fulton Dumbbell Deadlifts, of which he got several more records. Scott is a great grip guy, and should get more recognition for his grip strength. His One Arm Fulton Dumbbell of 175 pounds was unbelievable, and if it wasn’t for Ben overshadowing him on this day, I would be bragging that record lift up as well.

Mike Murdock set a new age group record in the Trap Bar Deadlift with a lift of 305 pounds.

Mike “Murdo” Murdock set the most records in the most events with 9. Mike lifted the day before in the Team Nationals and I was surprised that he was planning on doing this much today! He did a wide range of lifts. I felt his best record lift of the day was his 305 pound Trap Bar Deadlift. To me a guy lifting over 300 pounds at the age of over 70 in the Trap Bar Deadlift is like a young lifter lifting over 600 pounds. Not too many can do it either! Mike has had an outstanding year in the USAWA, and has lifted in as many meets as anyone. I’m keeping an eye on Mike as it won’t be long and he will be in the CENTURY CLUB for holding over 100 USAWA records. And when he does, I’ll pat him on the back because he will be the first to do it starting in the 70 plus age group!

LaVerne Myers "stole the show" with his 117 pound Dumbbell Walk. The reason this picture is blurry is because he was moving so fast!

My father LaVerne made his faithful appearance today at the record day. These past couple of years he hasn’t missed an opportunity to lift in the Dino Gym Record Days. One of his highlights was setting a personal record in the One Handed 2″ Vertical Bar Deadlift with a fine lift of 182 pounds. I was considering doing the Vertical Bar Deadlift myself but after watching his record setting effort I decided I better not! I was worried that I might not be able to “measure up” to the standard set by ole Dad! haha However, Dad “stole the show” on the last lift contested at this record day – the Dumbbell Walk. Of course when I got out the Dumbbell Walk handle, I “threw down the challenge” to Ben and Dad so they HAD to participate. I hadn’t done any grip stuff all day so I was hoping to use this to my advantage (I’m a crafty one!). I was mainly concerned about Ben being my primary challenge, and I knew Ben had totally exhausted his grip by this point when he only managed 102 pounds on the Walk. If he would have done this first thing it would have been WAY MORE! I then played a little “psych out” game with him and made a big jump to 132 pounds which was outside of both of our limits, but I thought it would “finish of” his grip and then I would drop back and break his 102 mark, which I did with a Dumbbell Walk of 117 pounds. At that point I thought I had it won, and was shaking Ben’s hand when my Dad, to our surprise, picked up the 117 and made the walk!!! What can I say??? What a great way to end a record day at the Dino Gym.

My "highlight lift" was this 772 pound Neck Lift, which is a personal record and USAWA record in the 120 KG weight class.